Aerial tow target



Nov. 8, 1949 LE ROY s. JESSEN AERIAL TOW TARGET Filed Dec. 31, 1947INVENTOR. LE @or a a6 JEN M WW4? HTTOE/Vffif Patented Nov. 8, 1949UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AERIAL TOW TARGET Le Roy S. J cssen, Dayton,Ohio Application December 31, 1947, Serial No. 794,853

4 Claims. (01. 273-1053) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, asamended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described hereinmay be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmentalpurposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to aerial tow targets and particularly to amechanism for releasing a target and replacing it with another duringflight.

It is presently the practice in tow target gunnery to tow a target bymeans of a suitable towing plane equipped with a Windlass containing therequired length of cable. The target is let out on this cable and aftera prearranged amount of gunnery practice has been recorded on a targetit is preferably exchanged for another. Since it is impracticable toreel in the target with the Windlass against the air resistanceencountered, it is usual to provide mechanism at the junction betweenthe target and the end of the cable whereby the used target is releasedand dropped and replaced by another, the mechanism for accomplishingthis being such that the impact of the new target sent back from the towplane will release the old target but will hold the new one forsubsequent gunnery practice, each used target being in turn replaced bya new one through operation of the release mechanism.

Release mechanisms of the general character herein disclosed arepresently known to the art but they are not as simple in constructionnor as effective in operation as could be desired, and it is thereforean object of this invention to provide a simple, inexpensive and compacttow target exchange device which will perform this function at minimumcost and with minimum danger of failure. I attain this and other objectsand meritorious features in the mechanism hereinafter described,reference being had to the drawing, wherein: Y Y

Fig. 1 is an assembled side view of an embodiment of the releasemechanism which is the subject of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but with a target lead line ringshown in the several positions which it takes in releasing a targetafter use and substituting a new one in its place.

Fig. 3 is a transverse figure taken on the line 33 or 3a-3a of Fig. 2,showing the cross sectional contour of the body of the device.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the severalviews.

In the drawing, a towing cable Ill is fastened in a well known manner ina hollow conical guide l2, this method of fixing the cable being shownin Fig. 3 of .my Patent No. 2,390,538 issued December 11, 1945. The coneI2 is threadedly as- 2 sembled with the body Id of the device, the twoparts being joined together at "5.

The body portion M is slotted as at [8, Fig. 3, from the right-hand endof the body to the line 20, the slot [8 being wide enough to freelyadmit the triple hook 22 which is freely rotatable on the shaft 24 andis temporarily held in the position shown by a small split cotter pin25. A plurality of rings 26 are provided, each having an ear 28 to whichthe target attaching line 3!! of the target (not shown) is secured. Thebody I4 is substantially of uniform diameter throughout its lengthalthough offset as at 29, this offset being an important feature of theinvention. The openings in the rings 26 are large enough to pass overany portion of the body l4 loosely as shown. The operation of theimproved target exchanger is substantially as follows:

A number of rings 26, each with an attaching line 30 are assembled onthe guide tube (not shown) through which the cable passes as it comesfrom the Windlass. After the towing plane is aloft, a target may beattached to a ring 26 by the attaching line 30, and the ring placed inposition A on the body l4. At this time the position of the triple hook22 is such that the end 36 of one of the hooks keeps the ring frompassing on over the body, the cotter pin 25 temporarily holding thetriple hook in that position. The target is then launched through anopening in the underside of the airplane. The target then, due to airresistance, pulls the cable from the Windlass in the airplane. Whensufficient cable is pulled out, the operator sets a brake and the targetis ready for gunnery practice. When it is desired to replace the targetbeing towed with a new target, the new target is attached to the outerlead line whose ring is still threaded on the guide tube. The new targetis then launched through the launching opening and the towing airplaneflies on, pulling the cable through the ring of the lead line of the newtarget.

When the replacement target with its ring 26a and the exchange devicemeet, and the ring 2611 passes over the cone l2 and onto the body Hi,the ring 26a, when it reaches the position C, strikes the downwardlyextending portion of the triple hook 22 at 32, and, by further rearwardmovement to the position B, rotates the triple hook 22 in the directionof the arrow 34 and thereby shears the cotter pin 25 and moves the hookend 36 upwardly into the slot I8, allowing the first ring 26 to pass offthe rear end of the body I 4, whereby the original target is dropped,and allowing the second ring 26a to take the position A whereby itstarget may be towed for further gunnery practice.

There is now no further need for a cotter pin 25 to hold the triple hooknonrotative, since, due to the offset 29 of the body M, the center 38 ofthe cross section of the ring 26 and the center of the shaft 24 are bothin a plane parallel with the axis of the body l4. Rearward pull on thering 26 will therefore have no tendency to rotate the triple hook andthereby drop the target. Rotation of the triple hook and dropping of theused target may be effected only by release of a new target.

The last target to be flown is released by the use of a very smallrelease sleeve in the shape of the target itself. This sleeve travelsout over the cable on the same lead line and ring assembly as thetargets, releases the last target and retains itself on the exchangeassembly. Its purpose from this time on is to act as a stabilizer tokeep the cable from whipping while the cable is being reeled back on theWindlass of the airplane.

Having described an embodiment of my invention, I claim:

1. For use in connection with a towing plane having a windlass with acable windable thereon and a series of targets each having a lead lineand a target ring at the free end of the lead line, the invention whichcomprises an improved target exchanger of the class which discharges aused target by the impact of a fresh target, said exchanger comprising acylindrical body, a coni- 2. An improved target exchanger of the classwhich discharges a used target by the impact of a fresh target, saidexchanger comprising a cylindrical body, a forwardly tapering portion atthe forward end of said cylindrical body adapted to receive and hold theend of a cable, said cylindrical body being slotted from the rearwardend forwardly to a point near the beginning of the tapering portion. therearward half of the slotted portion being offset in the plane of theslot, a shaft near one side of the cylindrical body adjacent the offset,having its axis normal to the plane of said ,slot, a triple hook in theform of a wheel having three radial spokes each terminating in acircumferentially extending-hook at the outer end, said wheel beingrotatable on said shaft within said cal portion at the forward end ofsaid cylindrical body adapted to receive and hold the end of a cable,said cylindrical body being of a diameter which will pass freely througha target ring and being medially slotted from the rearward end forwardlyto a point near the beginning of the conical portion and being offsetmidway of the slotted portion in the plane of the slot, a transverseshaft near one side of the cylindrical body adjacent the offset, havingits axis normal to the plane of said slot, a triple hook in the form ofa V l wheel having three radially extending spokes each terminating in acircumferentially extending hook at the outer end, said wheel beingrotatable on said shaft within said slot and positioned so that when onespoke and its hook is in a first I slot and positioned so that when onespoke and its hook is in a first position wholly within said slot, asecond spoke and its hook is in a second position wholly outside saidslot with its hook extending forwardly of the body, and the third spokeis in a third position within said slot with its hook protrudingradially from said slot at the side of said offset portion substantiallyas shown and described.

3. An improved target exchanger comprising a cylindrical body, slottedfrom the rearward end forwardly to a point intermediate the ends andhaving the rearward half of the slotted portion offset in the palne ofthe slot, a shaft near one side of the cylindrical body adjacent theoffset,

having its axis normal to the plane of said slot, a triple hook in theform of a wheel having three radial spokes each terminating in acircumferentially extending hook at the outer end, said wheel beingrotatable on said shaft within said slot and positioned so that when onespoke and its hook is in a first position wholly within said slot, asecond spoke and its hook is in a second position wholly outside saidslot with its hook extending forwardly of the body, and the third spokeis in a third position within said slot with its hook protrudingradially from said slot at the side of said oifset portion.

4. The device of claim 3 with a shear pin extending through an openingwhich passes transversely through said'bod'y and'through one spoke ofsaid wheel.

LE ROY S. JESSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,971,340 Foulk "Aug. 28, 19342,310,249 Maskey Feb. 9, 1943

